Division B - Printed Tools of Public Relations
Category 4 - Brochure - Four Color
CANE ISLAND POWER PARK BROCHURE
Kissimmee Utility Authority, Chris M. Gent, Rachael K. Gmerek

Golden Image Award


Research/Situation Analysis: Every year more than 17,000 professionals from 76+ countries gather together for the POWER-GEN International Conference. It is the largest power generation conference on the planet and an opportunity for exhibiting companies to display the latest products and technologies while providing workshops covering the most important issues and trends impacting the electric utility industry.
The POWER-GEN conference in 2006 was located in Orlando, Fla., and Kissimmee Utility Authority (KUA) was offered a unique opportunity by conference organizers to provide technical tours of its state-of-the-art power plant to interested conference attendees. This presented KUA with a tremendous opportunity to showcase its $263 million generating plant, but it did bring with it a significant challenge: an orientation brochure about the power plant had to be developed for tour participants – from start to finish – in just four weeks. We had our work cut out for us.

Objectives: We quickly identified five objectives that we wanted to achieve with the brochure: (1) to develop a brochure that provided public orientation of the power generation facility; (2) to offer operating statistics as well as power plant historical data in an easy-to-read format; (3) to create a map or illustration that would serve as a helpful directional guide to the facility; (4) to complete the brochure by the scheduled Nov. 27, 2006 technical tour; and (5) to keep the cost of the brochures at $1.00 per brochure.

Implementation: In conjunction with the opening of the Cane Island Power Park in 1995, KUA produced a two-color brochure for public tours. The brochure was updated again in 2001 when the generating plant was expanded. In the five years since the last update the brochure had become outdated, both in appearance and in the information contained within it. The old brochure, however, did serve as a springboard for the new brochure.
We developed and issued three Requests for Proposal (RFP): the first for graphic design services, the second for illustration services and the third for printing. A top-notch illustrator whom we had worked with previously had relocated to Thailand from the United States, and we had lost touch with him. Through a series of telephone calls and emails, we were able to locate him. He agreed to help us with the brochure, and we provided him with aerial photos and blueprints of the facility to assist with his illustration. This posed additional challenges as the government of Thailand restricts the file size of email attachments being transmitted to and from the country. As a result, we had to send the high-resolution photos in small pieces to the illustrator, and he would reassemble them on his end like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Although cumbersome at times, the end result was a detailed illustration that would become the central point of reference in the brochure.
The next two weeks were spent on copy development, design and layout, photo shoots and selection of images. To help keep costs down, we secured the photography services of one of our utility employees who is studying photography at a local community college. In exchange for his volunteer services, we agreed to include a photo credit inside the brochure so that it could be used as part of his expanding photography portfolio.
Within three weeks all the elements came together and the completed brochure was sent to a local printer.

Evaluation: The brochure was completed on time for the Nov. 27 tour. The brochure provided tour participations with a fresh, visually appealing orientation of the facility.
Based on oral and written feedback received from both tour participants and power plant personnel, four of our five objectives were met. We successfully produced a brochure that provided public orientation of the power generation facility. The brochure featured updated operating statistics and power plant historical data in an easy-to-read format. The illustration served as the central focus of the brochure.
Our fifth objective and the one objective that we didn’t meet involved brochure cost. The brochures were completed at a cost per piece of $1.26 – five percent over our original budget. Some of the additional cost can be attributed to rush charges for paper stock to meet our tight timeline. Our true cost savings, however, will be achieved over time because we now have a brochure template that can be easily updated by utility staff without having to go back to our graphic designer for costly changes.
We were also pleased to see several unexpected uses for the brochure. Among them . . . in developing emergency exit plans for the power plant buildings, the brochure provided management with a visual representation of the exit routes. The brochure has also been used as a helpful tool when planning perimeter security for public events and tours.
In short, the brochure met a short-term need for the POWER-GEN conference and has since become a long-term piece to educate stakeholders, the public and others on the operation of our power plant.

Budget: The budget breakdown is as follows: graphic design services – $1,280; illustration services – $2,800; printing – $2,231 for 5,000 copies. Total budget: $6,311 or $1.26 per brochure. Total staff time: 8 hours.